- A weblog by InetSolution
conveying credibility and consistency important for online retailer
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Sep 25, 2006
Paul, owner of http://www.rdbelectronics.net, asked for members of StartupNation to review his website.
I'll offer my two cents from a usability, SEO and first impression standpoint. My first impression was of indifference -- the site doesn't look unprofessional, but it also has a "homemade" look to it. In a competitive industry like consumer electronics retailing where customers are skeptical of unknown names, it's critical to show customers a design that conveys a credible, reputable company image. For specific design guidelines to help improve your site's credibility, visit http://credibility.stanford.edu/
When viewing your poduct detail pages, the product specs are not consistently aligned. Readers will require more time to read and process your content, and the inconsistency chips away at the credibility of your site. Here is an example: http://rdbelectronics.net/cart/product_info.php?cPath=2_55&a mp;a mp;products_id=151&osCsid=446c1ad9d71062712f950f88402495 23
I'd also like to see you display one of the most important action items -- the Add to Cart button -- in a consistent location where a customer is likely to expect it and see it. Currently, it is below the product specs, which means that the location varies depending on the length of the specs and often times is "below the fold", thus forcing customers to scroll to even see the button.
You might also consider grouping the price elements on your page. Your price is in the upper right corner of the main body area, but the "Saving $10.00" is listed at the bottom of the specs. I'd recommend taking a page from Amazon's book (yep, that was an intended pun) and list the MSRP/regular price, then the customer's actual price, and then the savings amount. But make sure to apply a strike-through style to the List Price so that it's clear to the visitor that's the list price and not the actual price.
Another important requirement for a site like yours is to include your physical address and telephone number on your Contact Us page. Whenever I'm shopping for electronics online, if I encounter a store I've not purchased from nor heard of, I always look for their physical address. (One of my litmus tests is to make sure the store isn't in Brooklyn, NY due to the large number of gray market dealers located there.) In addition, if you accept phone orders or provide phone support, list your phone number at the top of every page in the website. Amazon.com and Buy.com can get away without showing a phone number, but it'll cost you sales by not doing so.
Now a word about your navigation. I cannot figure out the sort order of your Categories list. It appears perhaps to be listed in the order that you created the categories? You may consider sorting these alphabetically so that customers can more easily find what they're seeking.
I thought your checkout process was efficient, but I do wonder whether you really need to know whether I'm male or female? Also, are the majority of your customers from the United States? If so, then either make the United States the default Country selection or put it at the top of the list. Do you need my fax number? If not, then eliminate the field. Is there a specific reason to ask for the zip code between Street Address and State? If not, then put it after State where most people logically expect to enter that piece of information. Finally, would you really ship an order to Botswana? If not, then don't offer that country as a choice in the drop down.
My point is that you should eliminate fields that are not essential to the checkout process and make the fields that you do need intuitive for your customers to complete.
My final piece of advice is to consider creating a more unique selling proposition. "Your one stop electronics online store" doesn't really differentiate you from Buy.com or any of the ten thousand other "one stop electronics stores" on the internet. Perhaps you have some specialized knowledge about LCD televisions or high-def home entertainment systems. If so, capitalize on that by promoting your store as "The best online source for high definition home theater information and products."
Ok, I lied, I have one more piece of advice related to search engine optimization. This URL is doing nothing to help you in search engines:
Use a tool like mod_rewrite to change that URL to
http://rdbelectronics.net/Widescreen_DCR_Plasma_TV_with_Pixe l_Plus_2.htm
Make sure also that you're pushing your product database out to Froogle, PriceGrabber and the like. Also, don't forget to publish a SiteMap available for Google (http://www.google.com/webmasters/).
